As Canadians, we must ensure we are participating in, celebrating and promoting our diverse arts, culture and spirit of innovation.

We are getting slowly better at honouring our diversity throughout the year through the attendance at various festivals and visits to the hundreds of local, provincial and national art galleries, museums, theatres and arts centres.

From the art of the Group of Seven to the extraordinary global presence of many artists from all artistic disciplines, Canadians have a proud history of creating art that showcases our country on the world stage.

Sharing what we consider uniquely Canadian in many ways helps other nations better understand our culture and helps us understand and appreciate each other. As the federal government’s “Canadian Culture in a Global World” report points out, “Our culture — our ideas, songs and stories — gives meaning to who we are as Canadians. Through cultural products we express ideas and perspectives, and we share stories and images that are uniquely Canadian — among ourselves and with the rest of the world.”

Arts and culture emerged as an important issue in the last federal election, with commitments from all political parties and the Liberals promise that they would increase annual funding across the board, with particular emphasis on the Canada Council for the Arts, CBC, Telefilm Canada and the National Film Board.

“These actions will create new jobs in our cultural and creative industries, enable greater artistic activity across the country, enhance the quality of life in our communities, and ensure that artistic creation remains an important part of our economy in the years ahead,” the Liberal Party website

However, while we value the unique contribution Canadian culture makes on the world stage, when it comes to choosing the leaders for some of our major Canadian cultural institutions, it appears we prefer to outsource or that we have done an inadequate job of recognizing, nourishing, developing and supporting the next generation of Canadian arts leaders.

Five of Canada’s cultural institutions — the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Shaw Festival and the Luminato Festival — have appointed leadership positions from international applicants, as opposed to Canadian applicants.

Canadians already play a role on the international stage when it comes to arts and culture. A number of high profile international galleries and museums are led and curated by Canadians. However, finding other Canadians in similar leadership roles here in the country proves more difficult.

After a series of recent reports highlighting the prevalence of international leadership at Canada’s beloved art and cultural institutes, Jeffrey Spalding, senior curator at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in New Brunswick, penned a blog post.

The East Coast curator believes our lack of support for Canadian arts leaders can potentially have a negative impact on our global reputation, writing “Unless we continue to proudly proclaim the virtues of our best, others may not hear.”

For Spalding, balancing regionalism, nationalism and internationalism starts with creating more mentorship programs and entry-level positions for Canada’s diverse community, at all of our Canadian cultural institutions.

Former president and CEO of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Jeff Melanson believes Canada should embrace international talent, while nurturing and supporting talent here in the country.

“It’s important for us to have a balance,” said Melanson. “I believe we are fortunate to gain from international arts leaders who offer a global perspective and bring international experience, while Canadian leaders bring their Canadian perspective and experiences to the table. There is no doubt that we have the arts leadership talent in the country, the development of which is crucial if we want to ensure unique Canadian perspectives continue to launch on to the international stage.”

Melanson believes an equilibrium will give us the best of both worlds.

“We should certainly see a balance of Canadian and international leaders running arts organizations in Canada,” Melanson continued. “Both are important perspectives to have in today’s competitive world. It does break my heart to see Canadian arts leaders deprived of these opportunities or the necessary training and mentorship to succeed in the field. It is the responsibility of our arts organizations to nurture talent to ensure our emerging Canadian arts leaders have the opportunity to thrive. The country needs their leadership.”

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